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Ancient colossi of lore, wergard paragons are sleeping relics of the past who still shape the world to this day. Wergard paragons are "grown up" wergards who have assumed their normal size. It is said though that the most ancient of ancient wergards dwarf even paragons, epic creatures of legend.

Wergard paragons are massive creatures, and thus suited best for martial aspects. However, they are yet somehow skillful in spite of their low intellect, and can perform many tasks well.

Abilities: The class gives massive bonuses to Strength and Constitution, while decreasing Dexterity as they grow in size. What ability scores are important depends on the direction of the indidivual, but martial minded wergards are by far the most obvious answer.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A wergard paragon is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all armor and shields (including tower shields).

Ancient Lore (Ex): The racial memories of eons before suddenly awaken within your senses. The memories are vague and random as you delve deep into your mind. A wergard paragon may make a special ancient lore check with a bonus equal to his HD + his Intelligence modifier to see whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. (If the wergard paragon has 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), he gains a +2 bonus on this check.) If he has bardic knowledge or similar, this ability does not stack with it, though he may use both.

A successful ancient lore check will not reveal the powers of a magic item but may give a hint as to its general function. A wergard paragon may not take 10 or take 20 on this check; this sort of knowledge is essentially random.

Learn Language (Ex): At 1st level and every level afterward, the wergard paragon may learn a new language, as his many experiences and encounters during his long life has granted him such insight.

Slam (Ex): A wergard paragon gains a powerful slam attack natural weapon, swinging his earthern bulk. The slam attack deals 1d6 + 1 and 1/2 times your Strength bonus if it is the only attack done in the round, or 1d6 + your Strength bonus if used in conjunction with other attacks. You may enhance your slam as if it were a masterwork weapon, or apply material properties by paying the appropriate cost to add the material to your body.

Stonecunning (Ex): This ability grants a wergard paragon a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A wergard paragon who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a wergard paragon can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A wergard paragon can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.

Runebearing (Su): At 1st, 2nd, and every two levels after you gain a runic mark on your body, similar to the rune which is your true name. However, these runes grant you additional mystic powers beyond your normal abilities. You may only select a rune once, unless noted otherwise, from the list below.

Combat Feat: Your long history has given you knowledge of many fighting styles. You gain a bonus fighter feat, and your wergard paragon levels stack with actual fighter levels to determine feat pre-requisites.

Damage Reduction (Ex): You are hard as stone. You gain DR 1/-. You may select this rune multiple times.

Death Throes (Su): If you are slain, your body explodes in a retributive flurry of ribbons of light. They fall upon your killer, dealing 1d6 points of damage per HD. If this kills them, reviving you takes no xp cost to do so. You may choose to suppress the death throes upon your death if you wish, and it does not activate if your death was not caused by a creature (such as dying from a pit trap).

Heavy Blow (Ex): As a standard action you may make a single attack that deals strength modifier and a half damage for a light or one-handed weapon, and x2 strength modifier in damage for a two handed weapon.

Improved Restore Body (Su): The earth heals you of your wounds. The amount restored by your Restore Body class feature increases to 10 x your current HD, and it is a swift action. You must have Restore Body to select this ability.

Improved Quake (Su): Your quake class ability becomes stronger, dealing 1d6 points of damage per level, and you may choose to deal lethal damage if you wish. The DC for the ability rises by +1. You must have the Quake class ability to select this.

Sudden Sleep (Ex): You may enter a Deep Sleep as an immediate action, freezing in place and enjoying the benefits of hardness. You count as an object when you are in a deep sleep state, and thus can use this to avoid the effects of certain spells. However, you still require a full round action to recover yourself and are dazed for 1 round afterward, making it a risky gambit indeed.

Mind Ward (Ex): At 2nd level, your mind becomes more shielded against attacks from the outside. You gain a +2 racial bonus against mind-affecting effects. At 4th level and every even level the bonus rises by another +2, until 8th level where you become immune to mind-affecting effects.

Restore Body (Su): At 3rd level, a wergard paragon can heal his own wounds so long as he is in contact with natural earth. He can heal a number of hit points of damage equal to twice his current HD each day, and he can spread this healing out among several uses.

Speed Increase: At 5th level the increase in size comes with a larger gait. The wergard paragon gains +10 to his base land speed. It increases by +10 again at 9th level.

Quake (Su): At 7th level, a wergard paragon can stomp upon the ground so hard as to create an earthquake. As a standard action all subjects touching the ground within a 10 foot radius surrounding you must make a save or fall prone and take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage per HD, Reflex negates. The save is 10 + 1/2 HD + your Constitution modifier. You may perform a quake every 1d4 rounds.

Religion: Wergards are almost universally dedicated to their known creator, Oan. However, it is not unheard of them to dedicate themselves to spiritual concepts and nature.

Other Classes: Being a skillful and martially minded class, thanks to high hit dice and major size boosts, martial classes so well. Initiator classes are best due to their interaction with non-initiator levels.

Combat: Wergard Paragons are massive hulks which carry a powerful punch, and have loads of hit points. Often the answer is solved by moving close and slamming into it with your fist!.

Advancement: Consider branching into various martial prestige classes or classes which offer fast progression of their core elements.

Daily Life: Wergard Paragons are guardians of the land who spend much of their time in meditation. When they stir, they are often outsiders to an alien culture to them, and so they struggle to fit in, rarely ever succeeding. Rather than fight it, many accept themselves as creatures of legend and behave accordingly unto others.

Organizations: Wergards are solitary creatures, banding together only to work on a common cause. They lack a major social structure to associate themselves with.

Characters with ranks in Knowledge History can research wergard paragons to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge History

DC

Result

10

Wergard paragons are the more advanced wergards, they remember the past and are one with the earth.

15

Wergard paragons increase in size as they grow in power, become faster, and know more magical abilities.

20

Advanced wergard paragons are literally huge, and can cause earthquakes with a stomp of their foot!

30

Those who reach this level of success can research specific wergard paragons, their location, behaviors, age, and other facts.

Sample Encounter: A wergard paragon has awakened from an ancient time. Unable to speak any tongue from this age, it has been unable to communicate but seems dead set upon marching its way to the capital city, with seemingly ill intent. Can you find out its motives, or stop it before it becomes nasty?